Document-ID:        17388.1
Subject:            (V4/45) IMPLEMENTING FULL-SCREEN MENUS
Author:             PRGANESH
Last Modified Date: 09 February  1995


 

                       IMPLEMENTING FULL-SCREEN MENUS

  There are three circumstances under which a form can be run

1. With a default menu that is provided with every form
2. With a custom menu that should be created by the user
3. With no menu at all

  A default menu is built into every form, and is not a separate menu module.
The default menu includes standard commands for navigation, editing and
database interaction.

  A custom menu is required if the application built requires unique menu
functions, which are not provided by the default menu.  Custom menus can run in
PULL-DOWN, BAR or FULL-SCREEN display style.  The display style for a menu
is specified in the Form Module Property sheet when you attach the menu to
the form.
  The same menu module can be run in different display styles, however not all
menu features are available in every display style.  When creating the menu
consider the style in which the menu is to be displayed at runtime.
Full-screen menus are commonly used in character-mode applications and are not
standard for bitmapped applications.

  Some of the menu features not available for full-screen menus are
    * Full-screen menus cannot be tear-off menus
    * Full-screen menus cannot have the following menu item types
      - magic
      - check
      - radio and
      - separator

  Full-screen menus are menus that will be displayed in separate windows;
unlike the pull-down or the bar menus the menu items will be displayed
vertically rather than horizontally.  Highlighting indicates the current
item, and the 'Enter Your Choice' field contains the item number.

  By default, Oracle Forms uses the title of the root window as the menu window
title at runtime.  However, if you do not specify a root window and the title
for the root window, Oracle Forms uses the title or the name of the current
menu as the window title for the full-screen menu.

  To specify menu titles that display at runtime:
1. In the menu editor, select the menu to which the title is to be assigned.
2. Choose Menu Info (in the case of Oracle Forms 4.5, in the properties
   window, set the title property).  The following are the properties that can
   be set for full-screen menus only.

Property                   Description
_______________________________________________________________________________
Subtitle (Sub Title)       Can be up to 40 characters long and will be
                           displayed below the title in a full-screen menu.

Bottom Title               Can be up to 72 characters long and will be
                           displayed at the bottom of the full-screen menu.

Background Menu:
================

   A background menu is an individual menu which can be used only with menus
that are running in full-screen display style.  Only one background menu can
exist in a menu module and the name BGM should be assigned to it.  There are
some special features associated with background menus:

1. The first 10 menu items on the background menu are associated with a logical
   key, so that operators can press a background menu key to execute the menu
   item without having to select the item.

2. Operators granted background menu privileges can display the items on the
   background menu in a separate window by pressing the [Show BGM] item in the
   BGM.

3. The display of a background menu can be programmatically controlled by the
   execution of the SHOW_BACKGROUND_MENU unrestricted procedure.

4. Execution of the commands assigned to the background menu can be controlled
   programmatically by calling the BACKGROUND_MENU unrestricted procedure.

   Another feature of full-screen menus is the subtitution of parameters.
We can have Oracle Forms prompt for the value of a parameter when the operator
navigates to a particular menu, regardless of whether an item in the menu was
selected.  To associate a parameter with a parameter menu, enter the name of
the menu in the menu parameter property sheet.

  The hint text in a full-screen display type menu is displayed as the menu
descriptor, and the menu item name is ignored.  If the hint text is not
supplied,then the name of the item in a full-screen menu is displayed.

Navigating and Selecting Items:
===============================

  The following methods are used to select or navigate to a menu item in an
application running in the full-screen display style:

  - Select any item in the current menu by typing its item number in the
    'Enter your choice' field and pressing [Select] or Return.

  - Move the highlighting to an item in the current menu by pressing the
    [Down] or [Up] keys, then select it by pressing [Select] or Return.

Limitations of the Full-Screen Menu
===================================

1. If the block and the menu are based on the same window, on running the form
the menu is not displayed but the block is. The block takes precedence over the
menu.

2. In Oracle Forms 4.0 and 4.5 the option to navigate to a menu or a menu item
by direct selection is not available. This option is only available on Sql*Menu
5.0.xx.

3. Accelerator keys are not valid for full-screen display style menus.

Further References
==================
  See the Oracle Forms User's Guide for further details involving Full-Screen
Menus.